'Camera flashes' while sleeping could help combat jet lag, study reveals

Study: Scientists said the new technique could help combat jet lag

Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty

8 February 2016

Travellers who suffer from jet lag could be helped by exposing themselves to “camera flashes” while they sleep, a study has found.

Researchers said using flash therapy the night before making a long-haul trip could help the flyer adjust to a new time zone.

Holiday makers or business travellers often suffer from jet lag as their body becomes out of sync with a destinations sleeping and waking hours.

The lack of sleep can also cause poor concentration, a general feeling of malaise and stomach upsets.

Light therapy is already used for sleep disturbance and was known to help alleviate the symptoms of jet lag.

But the new study by Stanford University Medical Centre, found that brief bursts of light while sleeping was more effective.

Lead scientist Dr Jamie Zeitzer said: “This could be a new way of adjusting much more quickly to time changes than other methods in use today.”

The blast of light triggers signals from the retina to the “circadian system” in the brain, which alters a person’s biological clock.

Researchers found that two millisecond long bursts of light set off at 10-second intervals delayed the onset of sleepiness the next day by nearly two hours.

Dr Zeitzer said: “If you are flying to New York tomorrow, tonight you use the light therapy. If you normally wake up at 8am, you set the flashing light to go off at 5am. When you get to New York, your biological system is already in the process of shifting to East Coast time.

“We have found that most people can sleep through the flashing light just fine."

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'Camera flashes' while sleeping could help combat jet lag, study reveals

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